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There are so many examples of Apple doing something weird and reversing direction, with or without Jobs at the helm. Especially picking out a minor detail like

by ugh 16y ago

There are so many examples of Apple doing something weird and reversing direction, with or without Jobs at the helm. Especially picking out a minor detail like stripped icons seems akin to reading tea leaves. The iTunes and Mac App Store UI and the iTunes symbol have been “universally derided”, too. (I would also like to note that, on the grand scale of things, your examples are minor. Sure, they matter, but they are at least rectifiable at a minimal loss.)

bonaldi 16y ago
Yes, this is all very true. If I'd thought "Jobs matters" was going to be so controversial I would have prepped the examples better! Even if they were minor, I think they show a tendency that Apple has, and always has, that very few people can rein in -- or at least that there are very few people that Apple will allow to rein in. More than anything, Jobs's return brought focus to Apple. With him gone, that will be the challenge more than any of the PR sizzle or attention to detail that he also brings. That focus is something that must be brought to the table. After all, Apple keeps its staff a very long time. This is still, at some level, the company that loves to make new things but will channel that energy into OpenDocs and Dylans and Soups and MPWs and zillions of other cool things that don't get it where it needs to go. Are any of the current leadership team the type to bring that focus that harnesses that energy? I haven't seen it yet.
- ugh 16y ago
  “If I'd thought "Jobs matters" was going to be so controversial I would have prepped the examples better!” I’m not disagreeing with you. I just don’t know how Apple would do without Steve Jobs and I don’t think Steve Job’s recent leave showed any clear or dramatic effects, I’m not even sure whether there were any changes at all. Anything longer than six months might be different but I’m not sure about that.

by ugh 16y ago

bonaldi 16y ago

Yes, this is all very true. If I'd thought "Jobs matters" was going to be so controversial I would have prepped the examples better! Even if they were minor, I think they show a tendency that Apple has, and always has, that very few people can rein in -- or at least that there are very few people that Apple will allow to rein in. More than anything, Jobs's return brought focus to Apple. With him gone, that will be the challenge more than any of the PR sizzle or attention to detail that he also brings. That focus is something that must be brought to the table. After all, Apple keeps its staff a very long time. This is still, at some level, the company that loves to make new things but will channel that energy into OpenDocs and Dylans and Soups and MPWs and zillions of other cool things that don't get it where it needs to go. Are any of the current leadership team the type to bring that focus that harnesses that energy? I haven't seen it yet.

ugh 16y ago
“If I'd thought "Jobs matters" was going to be so controversial I would have prepped the examples better!” I’m not disagreeing with you. I just don’t know how Apple would do without Steve Jobs and I don’t think Steve Job’s recent leave showed any clear or dramatic effects, I’m not even sure whether there were any changes at all. Anything longer than six months might be different but I’m not sure about that.